Harry Potter and the Final Trial
by HPFanatic95
Summary: My view of HalfBlood Prince. Full of adventures.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- The Funeral **

"Gotta go to the bathroom… gotta go to the bathroom…" Harry Potter repeated over and over in his mind until the words lost all meaning. He and Dudley had just spent the past two hours celebrating their graduation from their fifth years at school by having a soda drinking contest, which Harry won. Sadly, it was a pyrrhic victory. Harry had set a personal record by chugging down fifty-three cans of soda, and now he had to let it out… but where?

The restaurant in which the two of them had held the contest was just a small diner, it had no bathrooms, and it was on a busy street, with very few other businesses. All there was were houses, and Harry had to resist the urge to barge into one and demand to use the bathroom. The closest place they could seek refuge was Dudley's house, but that was a little more than a mile away… could they make it?

"Why don't you just use some magic and teleport us back home or something?" asked Dudley, looking extremely red in the face, and almost in pain.

"I can't… I left my wand at home," said Harry, wanting to hit himself in the head for doing so. He had been so used to just having his wand with him wherever he went that he forgot that he actually had to bring it with him in order to have it. Back at Hogwarts, it was normal to have his wand with him wherever he went.

Of course, nothing like that would be normal to us, only to Harry and the rest of the wizarding world. You see, despite what you may think from the contest, Harry Potter is not a normal boy. He is a fifteen year old, going on sixteen, wizard student at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he among many other students learn how to perform fabulous magic, and gain powers that could help them in dangerous situations, everyday life… or situations much like the one Harry was in now.

"Arg, if I had my wand I could just summon us a toilet or something," groaned Harry and he walked slowly forward, the pain growing with each step.

"Oh, there has to be a place somewhere around here," said Dudley, gripping his stomach and desperately turning his head in all directions.

Harry couldn't help but smile. This was his and Dudley's first time out doing something together, and actually enjoying each other's company. For the past five years during summer vacations at Hogwarts, and for ten years before then, Dudley's family, the Dursley's, watched Harry. His parents were killed by the most terrible and vicious dark wizard in over a century: Voldemort. He attacked their house one night, to try and steal Harry from his parents. Both of his parents died in the attack, but Harry managed to survive due to his mother sacrificing her life for his. When Voldemort performed the killing curse on Harry, like he had done on hundreds of others, it just rebounded off of the invisible shield of love, and gave Harry only a small scar on his forehead.

When the curse rebounded back to Voldemort, it nearly killed him, turning him into a feeble spirit that wandered the world for thirteen years, trying to regain his former power. At the end of Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, Voldemort managed to resurrect himself, and rose to become even more horrible than before. Now, instead of trying to kill Harry, he has been trying to recruit him into his army of darkness.

Up until now, Harry hadn't stopped worrying about Voldemort. But, at this moment, he had more pressing matters at hand; like his exploding bladder.

"Oh man, we've got to find a place quick!" yelled Dudley and Harry at the same time, surprising each other. After a quick laugh, they returned to their previous states, and continued looking.

Suddenly, a place appeared before them. It was the most glorious place in the world. It shone its magnificent light, becoming the greatest building of all. It was like a mirage in a desert, it was salvation in a city. It was…

"A funeral home!" exclaimed Harry, pointing it out to Dudley. His face suddenly perked up.

"Oh yeah, they have to have 'facilities' in there!" he said, looking happier than Harry had ever seen him. With every ounce of energy in them, the two boys ran toward the building, gritting their teeth, and trying to stop their eyes from watering. Finally, after what felt like hours, they reached the front door and burst inside.

"May I help you… gentlemen?" asked a man at a desk in front of them. At first, he had a pleasant tone, but then once he saw the condition of Harry and Dudley's clothes (not at all appropriate for the place they were in) he immediately stuck his massive nose high in the air, stood up, and put on a snobbish attitude.

"Yes, do you have a bathroom anywhere?" gasped Harry.

"Well yes, but they are only for people visiting the deceased," said the man, sticking his nose, if it was possible, higher into the air. "Are you here to pay your respects?"

"Um…" stuttered Harry.

"Yes… yes of course," interjected Dudley. "We're here to… um… see grandma! Yeah, right! Grandma!" The man put his nose down slightly.

"Oh really? Well, Mrs. Perenelle is still accepting visitors," he said, sitting down and pointing his arm in the direction of a long hallway. "You may go see her."

"Thanks," groaned Harry and Dudley together quickly, running off as fast as they could.

"What did you think you were doing?" demanded Harry, elbowing Dudley in the side. "What if they didn't have any dead women? What then? Where would 'grandma' be?"

"I dunno," shrugged Dudley. "We'd just run away I guess. Sometimes you've got to take a chance. I did, and it paid off!"

"We're lucky it did," said Harry. "Now where's the bathroom?" Both of them turned their heads in every direction, scanning the hallway, trying to find the familiar signs of a lavatory. Suddenly, Dudley tapped Harry on the back, gasping that he saw one. They ran over to it, faster than they had ever run in their lives; even faster, for Harry, than when he was trying to get away from Voldemort.

After several minutes, both boys left the bathroom, their tongues hanging out, feeling greatly relieved. Harry put his hand on Dudley's shoulder.

"Let's never do that again," he said.

"Well, just don't forget your wand next time and we'll be okay."

"Hey Dudley, what should we do about… her?" asked Harry, pointing to the room that the woman was in that they were supposed to be seeing as they walked by it.

"What about her?"

"Well, it's thanks to her that we were able to use the bathroom. The least we could do is thank her."

"I guess so… let's just make it quick."

The two of them quickly popped into the small, slightly decorated room. Harry was surprised, however, at the lack of flowers or pictures. It was as if no one had been there, as if no one cared that she had died.

"Look at this," said Dudley, reading the guest book. "No one's been here yet, and according to this, the wake ends in just a few minutes. Where is everyone?"

"Maybe she didn't have any friends or family," suggested Harry, walking over to the open coffin. He looked in, and saw an extremely old woman inside. Her hair was pure white, with a small golden crown, and she looked at least one hundred years old, if not more. Her face was just a peach colored prune, and there were so many wavy wrinkles in her arms and hands, it was not hard to imagine someone surfing on them.

"Well… thanks," whispered Harry to her, backing away slowly. "Heh, you saved our lives…. Ready to go Dudley?"

"Yep," he said, putting down a pen.

"What were you doing with that?" asked Harry.

"I just put down our names in the guest book," he responded. "To make our story more believable.."

"Good thinking. Alright, let's go."

Both of them walked out of the home, trying to look like they were mourning. The man at the front appeared to have been satisfied with their look, he just nodded and went back to his work as they passed by.

"I hope you found your visit… relieving," said the man.

"Oh yes, it was very relieving," said Harry, trying not to burst out laughing as they walked out of the door.

The two of them walked the rest of the way back to Dudley's house, still laughing and reminiscing about their little adventure. Just when they were reliving the best part, Mrs. Figg, their old neighbor (who happened to be a witch and a teacher at Hogwarts) shouted out to them.

"Hello Harry!" she yelled from her door, walking outside.

"Hello Mrs. Figg," said Harry, walking over to her.

"Oh… hello there Dudley," she said. "Not used to seeing you two together."

"Yeah, me and Harry have kind of…become friends since last summer."

"Oh, well that's nice."

"What did you want to tell me, Mrs. Figg?" asked Harry.

"Oh yes! Well, I wanted to tell you that I will not be teaching this year at Hogwarts."

"What? Why not?" asked Harry, feeling extremely upset. "You were one of the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers I've ever had… the entire school has ever had!"

"Well, teaching just isn't my thing, Harry. I much prefer actually being out there fighting the dark forces than teaching how to do it. I only did it last year because there were no others willing to do it, and I felt as though I owed that school something. But, you don't have to worry; someone just as good, if not better than me is taking my place."

"Oh I doubt that," said Harry. "But who is?"

"Professor Quirrell."

"What?" yelled Harry, almost knocking himself and Mrs. Figg over. "But, he died five years ago! He was a servant to Voldemort!"

"Oh no no no no no," said Mrs. Figg, waving her arms. "That was Larry Quirrell. This is Jerry Quirrell, his twin brother."

"He had a twin brother?" asked Harry.

"Yes, and you know how they say when twins are born, one is supposedly evil, and the other is good? Well, before I knew the Quirrell children, I never believed that. But, they are a perfect example of that theory. Larry was foul, and Jerry is lovely."

"Well, I hope so," said Harry, still not feeling too sure. He personally fought Quirrell at the end of his first year at Hogwarts, and it was not a very pleasant experience, nor was it especially easy. "But why are you telling me now?"

"Harry, unlike students, teachers do not have the summers off. Me, among many others, are still quite busy at work, trying to keep the world we live in a safe one. I will be gone for the rest of summer, and wouldn't have a chance to tell you. I figured it would be better for you to hear it from me rather than just find out on the first day of school."

"Oh okay," said Harry. "But, one more thing. Is Snape going to teach Potions again this year, or is someone else?" Mrs. Figg let out a laugh.

"I'm afraid so, Harry," she said. "Snape will be back."

"Too bad," sighed Harry. "I lose a good teacher and gain a bad one, both in the same year. It'd be nice if Lupin could come back… or Sirius."

"I don't think Sirius will be coming back anytime soon," she groaned. "Ever since last year, with Cornelius Fudge having been revealed for what he was, the Ministry of Magic has been extremely desperate to show that they can do something right. So, they went back to their old attempt at catching Sirius."

"He's evaded them before, I'm sure he can do it again."

"I'm not so certain, Harry," she admitted. "This time, the Ministry is using very advanced magic to find him; especially one spell, the Possession Position Spell. If they get a hold of something that they know belongs to Sirius, they can immediately find him no matter where he is on Earth. I've heard he's trying to give most of his stuff away to his most trusted friends to try and avoid it."

"I hope they don't get him…" said Harry, feeling a little worried.

"Now don't fret too much," said Mrs. Figg. "I do not want you to lose sleep over this."

"Speaking of which…" moaned Harry, trying to indicate that he wanted to leave.

"Ah yes, it is getting late," said Mrs. Figg, walking back to her door. "I'll see you boys later!"

"Goodbye Mrs. Figg," yelled Harry, running up to the door to the Dursley's house alongside Dudley. "And… good luck!"

"Who's Snape?" asked Dudley when Harry opened the door, having a very dumbfounded look on his face. Harry merely laughed as they walked in. Dudley was so oblivious to Harry's world, it was funny.

"Where have you two been?" scorned Harry's Aunt Petunia the second they stepped inside, as if she had just been standing there, waiting to pounce.

"Will you shut it mom," said Dudley, closing the door. "I'll be sixteen in just a few days, I think I can take care of myself."

"Well of course you can take care of yourself in a normal situation, Dudley," she said. "But, whenever… he's around (she pointed to Harry) the situation can never be normal." Dudley just sighed at her response. Unlike him, the rest of the Dursleys had not yet come to respect the fact that Harry was a wizard, and nothing was going to change that. Dudley waved his arm, indicating to Harry to come into the living room and partake in their favorite activity (even more than soda chugging): watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

"Did I tell you watching this movie saved me during a test last year?" asked Harry.

"Hah! and they said memorizing it would never pay off!"

"Oh yeah, and there's something else I've been meaning to tell you Dudley… oh… what was it…?"

"Well, out with it!" he said, taking the movie out of its cover.

"Oh… it was…. Oh man, it's on the tip of my tongue!" said Harry, snapping his fingers.

"Come on! Use your magic or something to remember!"

"Oh yeah! That's it, I remember now!"

"What is it?"

"Dudley… you're a wizard."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Dobby Again

Dudley dropped the video to the floor, and he stayed squatted there, with his mouth opened wide. Harry knew he should have waited for a better time… but this was the best he could think of.

"I'm a… what?" stuttered Dudley.

"You're a wizard, like me," said Harry, trying to stay calm.

"But- but… how could I… be a wizard?" Harry tried not to smile. Dudley was reacting to the new the same way he did when he was told that he was one too.

"I can assure you that you are."

"But… I don't go to that school of yours, and- and… I've never done anything… magical. And how could I be… that way… with parents like mine?"

Harry sighed. Voldemort had told him the answers to all the same questions at the end of last year when he was holding Harry captive, and he didn't really feel like having to repeat it all over again. But, he had to. He had brought this new burden to Dudley, and he had to try and begin to relieve it.

"Well Dudley, to answer your first question, the reason you don't attend Hogwarts is because Voldemort somehow changed the attendance sheet for the new first years, when it was your time to come, so that your name was not on it."

"Why did he do that?"

"I never told you about the Kinsafe Charm put on this house, did I?"

"Um… no?"

"I guess not then," sighed Harry. "Well, when I was brought here, Dumbledore put the charm on the house so that as long as I was around family, Voldemort could not touch me. Now, if you came to Hogwarts with me, I'd still have that protection at school, which is something Voldemort definitely did not want."

"Oh, okay. I see," said Dudley, wide-eyed and not looking like he did 'see' at all. "But still, how can I be magical? I've never done any magic and my parents certainly aren't!"

"Well, I'm not sure how to say this, but your mom is a witch, Dudley."

Dudley didn't say anything, he just merely continued to stare at Harry, with a drop of drool slowly falling down from his mouth. Harry decided to keep on talking.

"You know that your mom and mine are twins, but what you don't know, is that their father is Voldemort." Harry stopped there for a second. The thought just occurred to him: Voldemort was his grandfather. He shuddered at the thought. "It's just by chance that he chose to help my mom out at a young age and give her a magic book to read before she even started school, giving her a huge advantage. When the time came for new students to be chosen, Lily so overshadowed Petunia, that they just forgot about her, and she never came to school. So, just because she never went to Hogwarts doesn't mean she lost her powers."

"But why doesn't she use magic now?" asked Dudley, quietly and slowly.

"After a while, I guess Hogwarts discovered their mistake and they wiped her memory, making her forget she was ever a witch. But, yet again, that didn't take away her powers, and when she gave birth to you, you gained some of them."

"So I'm… a wizard?" gasped Dudley.

"That's what I said."

"Wow," said Dudley, slowly getting up and sitting in a chair. "So… am I going to be coming to Hogwarts then?"

"Err…" stuttered Harry, he hadn't really thought about that. He had been meaning to owl Dumbledore. "I think so."

"Oh man… I don't know what to say," said Dudley, starting to look a little better, and possibly excited. "So, I'll be able to make fire, and summon brooms, and even control the weather?"

"Um… sure," said Harry, not wanting to get Dudley's hopes too high. There was always the chance that he wouldn't be coming. But, it couldn't hurt to get him started a little. "In fact, let's practice some right now!"

"That sounds like a great idea," said Dudley, jumping up from off his chair, and dropping the video on the floor, ready to start exploring his new life.

"That's it! Now you're getting the hang of it!" said Harry to Dudley, after his seventieth attempt at trying to perform a simple Lumos Spell resulted in some light. Even though he was using Harry's wand, and was therefore not as powerful as if he had used one that was his own, Harry hadn't expected it to make that much of a difference.

"Hey! I made some light!" squealed Dudley with excitement.

"Good job," said Harry, giving a small yawn. They had been practicing basic spells all day long inside the living room, and it was now extremely late. "But, I think it's time to call it a night. We'll practice some more tomorrow."

"Alright, Harry," he squeaked, giving him his wand back. Harry felt much stronger and more confident when he had his wand; it felt great to have it back.

"Good night, Harry," yawned Dudley, walking up the stairs to his room.

"See you later," said Harry, for one of the first times in his life, actually looking forward to the rest of his summer vacation.

Each day, for the next several weeks, Harry and Dudley practiced magic. Of course, they only did it while not in the presence of Dudley's parents: Harry's Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. Hearing them walk through the door, returning from whatever they were doing all day (work or mindless gossiping), was the low of the two boys' day.

Finally, when Dudley was able to perform most spells that an average First Year would be able to do, Harry decided it was time to send Dumbledore a letter, to see if Dudley would be able to come to Hogwarts next year. So, when Uncle Vernon walked through the door and their lesson was over, Harry decided it would be a good time to write it.

"I've got some things to do," said Harry, trying to find an excuse. "I'll see you later Dudley. Keep working on memorizing those spells names!"

"I will," he said, engaged in reading one of Harry's schoolbooks, staying in a position that would allow him to quickly hide it if one of his parents entered the room. Harry scooted up the stairs as fast as he could, and when he arrived in his room, he ripped out a piece of parchment from one of his notebooks on which he would write the letter. After just a few seconds of making a mental outline, he wrote:

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

How are you? I am fine here, living with the Muggles. I must say, it has been one of my better vacations, due to my new friendship with my cousin Dudley. Speaking of which, I'm not sure if I forgot to mention this to you or not, but at the end of last year, Voldemort told me that my Aunt Petunia was a witch, and that Dudley is now a wizard. Hearing this, I am wondering if it is possible for Dudley to begin at Hogwarts, since he has the magical power, all he needs is the proper teaching.

Please reply soon.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

Harry reread it, to make sure it sounded good, and it sufficed. He folded it up, and walked over to his white owl, Hedwig, who was asleep in her cage. Harry opened the small door to the cage, put his hand on her, and shook the owl gently. Her eyes opened, and she gave a quiet hoot.

"I need you to send this to Dumbledore," ordered Harry, attaching the letter to her leg. Immediately, Hedwig stood up and ruffled her feathers, trying to look important and superior. Harry gave her a small pat, and she nipped his finger. He stepped back and she flew out of the window.

Harry watched her fly away for a few seconds, until she was out of sight. He crossed his arms, smiled to himself, turned around, and gave a yell.

"AAAHHH!"

"Hello Harry Potter!" squeaked an all too familiar creature.

"Dobby!" gasped Harry loudly, clutching his chest and trying to regain himself. "You- you scared me! Don't sneak up on people like that."

"I is very sorry sir," squeaked Dobby. Harry looked at him, and he looked no different from the last time they met, except for the clothes he was wearing. On his arms, he had on some rubber gloves; yellow on the left, and blue on the right. Over his body, he had extremely loose rainbow suspenders, and over those, on his legs, he had very baggy black pants, something you'd expect a punk kid to wear. Harry knew Dobby liked to

flaunt his freedom, but he'd never seen him do it to this extent. "But, I is having to sneaks up on you! I is having to tell you something very important!"

"What is it this time, Dobby?" sighed Harry. Last time they had met like this, in Harry's bedroom, Dobby had threatened Harry not to return to Hogwarts.

"I is very sorry to say this, sir," he squeaked, "but you cannot returns to Hogwarts this year!" Harry sighed.

"Dobby… we've been through this before."

"No!" yelled Dobby, much more forcefully than Harry had ever heard him speak. "No! This times is completely different! This times, if Harry Potter is returning to Hogwarts, he will certainly die, along with many others!"

"Why, what is it this time?" asked Harry in a bored voice. "Has the Chamber of Secrets been opened again?"

"No no no! I is not able to say!"

"But Dobby, you don't have a master anymore. You are a free elf now. You can say whatever you want, whenever you want."

"Not really, Harry Potter, sir. I is still having masters. But, we does not have time to talk now! We is having to leave… now!"

"I'm not leaving, Dobby," said Harry. "Last time, nothing serious happened to me, and nothing will happen this time either. You can either tell me what the threat is now, or let me find out for myself later. Either way, I'm going back to Hogwarts."

"If you is not coming because you is wanting to, you is coming because I am forcing you to!" said Dobby quite loudly. He suddenly put both if his arms out, one on top of the other, with some space in between. He closed his eyes, and began to shake a little, and a blue orb appeared between his hands. The elf then yelled some sort of incoherent chant, and the orb grew ten times its size and imploded on itself, creating a small black hole that was sucking in everything in the room.

Harry was immediately drawn toward it, but he lashed out for the end post of his bed, and held on, his legs high in the air, being drawn into the hole. His entire room was spinning, and everything was being sucked to the middle. On top of that, there was a deafening windy noise, like a hundred tornadoes.

"Dobby! Stop this!" yelled Harry as loud as he could, still holding on.

"Not unless you is coming with me!" said Dobby, as clear as a bell. He was standing in a corner of the room, unaffected by his own spell.

Harry had to think of something. His bed was beginning to shake too, it was being sucked into the hole along with everything else. He had to get out of the room! Harry desperately looked around for anything that would help him.

Then he saw it: his broomstick! Of course, why hadn't he thought of that before? Harry slowly climbed his way up the bed sheets and towards the broom that was still stationary where it was. Apparently since it was magical, the spell had no effect on it, and since it was a Firebolt, it didn't even phase it. Harry continued climbing along his blankets, and soon reached the broom. Just as the bed was beginning to shake, and getting ready to join the swirling mass, Harry made a daring leap from his where he was to the broom, and grabbed on tight.

"See you later Dobby!" yelled Harry, mounting the Firebolt.

"No! Harry Potter cannots leave!" screamed Dobby as Harry raced out of the window, and into the open air. He took a deep breath, filled his lungs, and then exhaled it

all out. Flying was the greatest, and most natural to Harry of everything in the wizarding world. It was the most exhilarating thing in the universe… well, at least the second most. There were only two things in the world that could compare to flying on a broom: flying as a gryffin through the air, and being with Cho Chang, the greatest girl in Hogwarts.

Ever since he first saw her in his second year, Harry had had a crush on Cho. However, he had never really done anything about it until last year, when the two of them went out on their first date, and had silently proclaimed each other boyfriend and girlfriend.

As for flying as a gryffin, during his last year, Harry had become an Animagus, that is, a wizard who can transform into an animal without the use of a wand. Harry's gryffin was a half lion and half bird creature, possessing the greatest attributes of both; it was truly a beast to behold.

Harry suddenly snapped out of his little daydream, and returned to the real world. He found himself flying several hundred feet above the ground, looking down at the tiny buildings, cars, and ant-like people. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea where he was going. He certainly had to pick a destination. He couldn't return to the Dursleys, at least for a while. Not until he was sure Dobby wouldn't return… which was never. He couldn't fly all the way to Hogwarts… he didn't even know where it was. The last place left he could go, which in this case was definitely not least, was his best friend Ron Weasley's house. Last year, Harry had found himself in a very similar situation (fleeing from the Dursleys) and went to Ron's place for a while. Why not do the same thing again?

Harry sped off in the direction to the Weasley's house, hoping he was going the right way since he didn't have a map this time.

After a few wrong turns and dead ends, (which was very odd since he was in the air) Harry eventually found his way. Once he was on the right path, it wasn't long before he arrived at Ron's house.

It looked just like Harry remembered it: a house that looked far too tall, and at too much of an angle to one side. If such a thing existed in the Muggle world, it would surely fall over within an instant. But, things such as it were common in the wizarding world in which Harry lived in.

Harry flew down towards the front door, dismounted his broom, and 'rang' the doorbell that made the entire house flash bright for just a second. Harry slung his broom over his shoulder, and wondered who would answer the door.

If there was one thing that set the Weasleys apart from any other wizarding family… it would be two things: the fact that everyone in their house had bright red hair that made it appear as though there was an inferno whenever they had a family picture, and the insane amount of children they had. As far as Harry knew, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had seven children, six boys and one girl. Five of the six boys, however, had already graduated from Hogwarts, and only Ron and Ginny (the girl) were still in it.

Just then, the door opened, and Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway. She was a kind, plump lady who was always ready to welcome anyone and everyone. Her face immediately lit up when she saw Harry standing in front of her.

"Oh hello Harry dear!" she said, standing back and opening the door some more for him to walk through. "Come in, come in! What brings you here?"

"House elf trouble," groaned Harry, walking inside.

"Ooh, if I had a nickel for each time I heard that excuse! I'd have… well, let's see here… three nickels!"

"Um… that's good," said Harry, rolling his eyes slightly. As he did, he got a full view of the main room that was usually crowded with Weasleys during the summer, but for some reason, empty right now. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh," sighed Mrs. Weasley. "Fred and George have finally officially opened up their business down in Diagon Alley. The two of them and Percy are there now, working."

"Their store is open?" asked Harry, feeling very excited. For the past two years, Fred and George had been wanting to open up a joke shop, and due to a very generous donation from Harry, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes became a reality. "I can't wait to see it!"

"Yes, neither could Ginny. She's down there now, too."

"But… why is Percy helping? I thought he was working for the Ministry."

"Oh, with all that happened to Crouch a while ago, Percy lost all will to continue working in that field. No, he left that some time ago, and has started helping Fred and George with their business."

"Is Ron here?" asked Harry, sounding hopeful.

"Oh yes, he's in no rush to see the shop. He's rather enjoying being away from the chaos of their insane inventions, and I don't disagree. He's upstairs in his room by the way, playing with his cards."

"Oh, the chocolate frog cards?"

"No, these are something different. With these new ones, you actually play games. Ron seems to enjoy it, but I Haven't really looked into it yet. Why don't you go on up and see for yourself?"

"I think I will," said Harry, running up the crooked stairs to Ron's room. He reached the top rather quickly, and threw open the door, revealing Ron's extremely orange room, and Ron himself, sitting on his bed with playing cards all around him.

"Hello Ron," said Harry. Ron immediately looked up and waved to him.

"Hello Harry!" he said. "What are you doing here? Muggle trouble?"

"Nah, Dobby."

"Hmm, I see," he said, returning to the cards.

"What'cha got there?"

"Oh, it's a new card game," said Ron, looking up slightly. "It's really fun, and it has all sorts of real people and things in it."

"Have you got a million Dumbledores again?" asked Harry, sitting down next to him on the bed.

"No, he's one of the rarest ones," said Ron, still organizing the cards. Harry picked one up, and read it off.

"Let's see here: 'Boggart, power of four' . Well, there might not be much text, but wow! The artwork looks very nice, and they really are based on real things! Is it a fun game?"

"You bet," said Ron, grabbing the card out of Harry's hand and putting it in a pile. "Want to learn how to play?"

"Sure," said Harry eagerly, eyeing all of the cards hungrily. It was as if they had some sort of drawing power on him, beckoning him to touch them, and mocking him for not doing so.

"Alright, well there's two types of cards: fighters and effects. The fighters… well, do the fighting, and the effects help you and hurt your opponents. Each turn, you get to use two total actions, made up of playing fighters or using effects, or even drawing additional cards. Then, your fighters attack your opponent's fighters, and once you have no fighters in play, all the damage comes to you, that is, your deck."

"Sounds kind of complex," said Harry, his head beginning to spin.

"Nah, not really. No more than Quidditch anyway. One you play a game or two, you'll get the hang of it."

"Can we play a game?" asked Harry, waning to try it out.

"No, I don't have enough cards yet, and you need sixty for each deck."

"Oh, too bad."

"But… I think I remember dad once telling me that he had quite a collection."

"What? You mean, this card game had been around before?"

"Oh yeah. This cards game used to be the most popular one, but then the chocolate frog cards took over for a while. Now though, these ones are back and better than ever!"

"Do you know where he kept them?"

Ron put his hand up and began stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Well I'm not exactly sure, but I do have an idea! Let's go downstairs!" Ron jumped up from his bed, causing most of his cards to fall on the floor. He ran over to the door, and shouted down with his friend.

"Alright! I'll be down in a second! Just let me write a note to Dudley telling him where I am!" Harry scanned Ron's extremely cluttered desk for a quill and a spare piece of parchment. He found a tattered pigeon feather under a pile of books, and ripped out a sheet of parchment from one of Ron's old books. He quickly scribbled down a note to Dudley, telling him he had some 'business' with Ron, and had to leave abruptly, but he should be back later.

Harry folded the letter up, and walked over to Ron's tiny owl, Pigwidgeon, who was fluttering about in his small cage, looking extremely excited at the hope of sending a letter.

"I need you to send this to Dudley," said Harry, opening the door to the cage, and attaching the letter to Pigwidgeon's small leg. "He's a Muggle that lives in Surrey. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding him, just look for the most normal-looking house you can see and that's it." Pigwidgeon puffed his feathers out, and gave a funny sort of salute. Harry burst out laughing; he looked like a small and extremely fluffy kid who had his cheeks puffed out. A second later, though, Pigwidgeon was out the window and on his way.

Harry, upon seeing that his letter was okay, began walking downstairs to meet Ron. He ran down, as fast as he could, eager to see what Ron had found. When he got downstairs, Harry saw him sitting in a giant red chair in a corner of the house Harry had never really taken any notice of before. Around the chair were two massive shelves, each filled to the point of overflowing with books, like a mini-library. Ron was engaged in reading a particularly large one at the moment, and was flipping through it very quickly.

"What are you reading?" asked Harry, walking over to the chair.

"Reading? No, I'm looking," said Ron, keeping his head down. "This is a picture album; this entire library is filled with picture albums."

"Ohh," said Harry, eyeing the shelves and wondering how many thousands of pictures there were.

"Here, grab one and look for some cards," said Ron, blindly taking a book down and throwing it to Harry. "I know they're in one of these." Harry walked over and cracked open the book. Revealed inside was a single, full page that was like a miniature television screen. Like most wizard pictures, the people and things inside were moving. This picture showed a scene of a young Ron running around in the yard in his diaper, chasing after Fred and George, squealing the entire time.

"Aw, you were such a cute baby!" said Harry sarcastically. Ron peered over and sighed at the sight himself of the picture.

"Keep looking," he said sternly, turning the page for Harry and putting his own album away and getting a new one. Harry laughed and looked at the next sheet. This time, instead of there being one giant image taking up the entire page, there were nine smaller pictures, each depicting a different event.

"Wow," said Harry, gazing at each of the photos. He put his fingers out at the top middle one, a picture of two small boys, with red hair of course, playing on a swing set. Harry had no idea who they were, it could be any of the six Weasley boys. But, as Harry looked closer, he saw in the bottom right corner of the picture a girl with red hair, and she looked older than the other two in the picture. As Harry looked even closer, he saw that the girl was writing something in the sand… a single word: "Jamie". Harry put his hand over the picture, and swung the book over, to try and ask Ron who the boys and the girl were in the picture. But, just as the album was going through the air, the picture that Harry had his hand on fell out.

"Oh Harry!" said Ron, sounding annoyed. "Try not to make any pictures fall out!"

"Sorry," apologized Harry, bending over to pick them up. "Wait a minute…." Where Harry had thought only one picture had fallen out, there were actually two now. Harry picked them up, and looked at them; one of the images was the one he had looked at before, the picture of the two boys and the girl, but the other one was completely different. It was a photo of a much younger Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry guessed at least ten or fifteen years, with a single, small girl in front of both of them. Who was she?

"Hey Ron," said Harry, still looking at the picture. "Who is this?" Ron looked up from his album, and glanced at the picture.

"Oh that's… wait a second," said Ron, looking surprised. He dropped his book, and walked over to Harry, still looking at the picture. He took the image into his hand, and examined it up close. "Hmm, I've never seen this picture before."

"Well, isn't it just one of Bill or Charlie?" asked Harry. It was hard to tell the gender of a baby at that age, it could have been a boy. But, Ron shook his head, and showed him the picture, pointing to a calendar in the background.

"No. Bill was born in 1975, and Charlie was born in 1977. The calendar in the back here says the year is 1974. Neither of them were alive at that time."

There was a few seconds of an awkward silence.

"So… who is that girl?" asked Harry. "I mean, she's definitely a Weasley."

"Yeah, just look at that hair! But I have no idea who he is…. The only girl in this family is Ginny."

"Well, why don't you just ask your mom?"

"Good idea," said Ron, sounding serious and standing up. The two of them, with Ron carrying the picture, walked over to Mrs. Weasley who was cooking something for dinner.

"What can I help you with boys?" she asked, stirring something in a pot.

"Mom, who is this?" asked Ron, showing her the picture. "That is, the girl in this picture?" Mrs. Weasley lazily looked over, and turned around, with her pot in her hand. But, when her eyes met the photo, she dropped the container, causing whatever was inside to fall to the floor with a gigantic crash. Her eyes grew wide, and she snatched the photo out of Ron's hand.

"Mom, are you going to do something about the-" Ron was cut off.

"Where did you get this?" she demanded, not looking at all her normally kind self. Her face was all scrunched up and red, and reminded Harry more of an angry rhino than a loving mother.

"It… it was in the photo album…." stuttered Ron.

"I thought I told Arthur to hide this.…" fumed Mrs. Weasley quietly to herself.

"Hide… what, mom?" asked Ron.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" she said, trying to look cheerful again. She tapped the spill on the floor with her wand, and it magically cleaned itself up. She stood back before her stove, and inconspicuously crumpled up the picture in her hand. "Nothing at all dears, now go run along and-"

"No mom," said Ron, cutting her off. "Who is the girl in that picture?"

"Oh my! Look at the time!" gasped Mrs. Weasley, looking at a non-existent watch on her wrist. "I had better go do… something." She began shuffling off, but Ron looked as though he was not going to take no for an answer. He reached into his pocket, and took out his wand.

"Locomotor Mortis!" he yelled, pointing his wand at his mother. Immediately, her legs magically fused together, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Thank goodness Dumbledore is letting us use magic at home now," whispered Ron to Harry. Mrs. Weasley, however, was not looking nearly as happy.

"Ronald Weasley!" she yelled, looking furious. "You had better take this spell off of me before I-"

"No! I want you to tell us who this girl is in the picture!" yelled Ron, unfolding the crumpled image, and pointing to the unknown child. "Evidently, it's someone important, or you would have told us by now!"

"Ron, take this spell off of me and-"

"Don't make me go and get the Veritaserum," said Ron, pointing his wand at his mother. Harry didn't know how to feel, he was trying to keep quiet. It was very exciting and horrible at the same time what was going on. Mrs. Weasley gave a loud sigh.

"I knew someone would find out eventually," she said quietly.

"Find out? About what?" asked Ron, looking curious.

"Ron," said Mrs. Weasley slowly, "there's something I've both wanted and not wanted to tell you for the past sixteen years. I've wanted to tell the entire family, actually, but I just… couldn't."

"Tell me what? What is it?"

"It is the only secret this family has. The only thing that has ever made this family, at one point, feel weak. It is the greatest loss we had ever faced."

"What is it already? And what does this have to do with the picture?"

"Ron…" said Mrs. Weasley slowly, "you have another sister."


End file.
